of hikam



J. 8. Ross.

Refrigerator Building.

No. 61,107. r Patented Jan. 8, 1867.

ltrErEns, PMOm-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, D C- J. S. ROSS, 0F HIRAM, OHIO.

Letters Patent No. 61,107, dated January 8, 1867.

IMPROVED FRUIT ICE-HOUSE COMBINED.

fiilgz firlgetule retard in in their g itters Bflntent mm mating part at flge time."

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:-

Be it known that I, J. S. ROSS, of Hiram, in the.county of Portage, and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in :2. 'Fruit and Ice-House Combined and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and complete description of the construction of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side view of the house.

Figure 2 is an end view.

Figure 3 is a top view.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section.

Figure 5 is a detached view that will be referred to in the description.

Like letters of reference refer to like parts in the several views.

A, fig. 1, is the frame of the house, which is jointed and put together, sided, and shingled in the ordinary manner. It may also be constructed of any size and convenient shape. The outer walls of this house are made double, and the space B between which is filled in with saw-dust, tan-bark, or any other heat non-conducting material. The floor is also made double and filled up in the same way. G are the doors by which.access is bad to the building. Within this house is constructed a smaller building or ice-house, D, the walls of which are double, as are the walls of the outer building, and are filled up in the same manner. The relative size of this inner building to the outer is such as to leave a passage-way,-E, around between the two. This relative size and position are shown in fig. 3. The inner building or ice-house is divided longitudinally into two compartments, which are filled with ice in the following manner: F, fig. 5, is a frame or mould, the length and" breadth of which being nearly equal to that of one compartment, and from eight to ten inches in depth, more or,

less. This mould is shorter and narrower at the bottom than at the top, and is so put together that it can be easily taken apart, as will hereafter be shown. This mould is placed upon the vat Hfiof the ice-room, and is then filled with water and allowed to freeze; and when solid the mould is removed by slippingthe hook G by means of which the frame is held together. Upon this cake of ice the mould is again placed and again filled with water, and when frozen solid the mould is again removed, as before, and the process thus repeated until the compartment is filled. The several cakes of ice thus superimposed upon each other are shown in fig. 4, in which H are the ice-cakes. By this it will be seen that each piece is narrower at the bottom than at the top. When the room has been so far filled as to be inconveniently high, the roof is so arranged as to be lifted up and the operation of filling continued from above until the whole room'is as full as may be required. The purpose of making the cakes of ice smaller than the room is in order to provide a passageway between them and the walls for the accommodation of the operator in piling the ice and removing the same, when required, which is done by sawing the cakes into convenient-sized blocks for removal and transportation. To prevent the accumulation of water at the bottom of the room, the consequence of the melting of the ice, outlets and conducting pipes are provided and the water thereby run off. By these means the body of the ice is kept from the vapor which might arise from the greater temperature of the water. The ice being formed in the house in the manner as described, it becomes in consequence a solid mass, without interstices common to ice packed in the ordinary way, and hence will keep longer under equal circumstances.

The fruit department connected with this house is arranged as follows: I, figs. 1 and 3, is a room partitioned off in the building by double walls, and filled in as are the other walls, and between which and the iceroom is a passage-way, J, for the convenience of both rooms. This room is provided with an arrangement of shelves, K, of perforated boardsslats may be used insteadand on which are placed the fruits, &c., for preservation. This room being enclosed by double walls, and the doors made tight so as to exclude the external air and heat, and its proximity to the ice-room, it is in consequence kept at a very low temperature, and thereby the fruits preserved from decay for a much longer time than they eoul'd be at an ordinary summer temperature. Absorbentsmay be placed about in the room for the purpose 'of taking up the moisture eliminated by the fruit, and thereby the room kept free from dampness and mould;

What I claim as my improvement, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The special arrangement of-the fruit and ice-room's, when constructed and combined with a suitable building, as and for the purpose described. I

2. The mould1 or frame F, with adjustable tapering sides and ends, in combination with the pan or vat H, substantially as and for the purpose described.

J. S. ROSS. I

Witnesses:

W. H. Bunmnon, J. HOLMES. 

